Pivoting as a Creative: How to Turn Your Talent Into a Thriving Business | #197

Feeling stuck in your creative career? Whether you're a producer, designer, editor, writer, artist, or performer—this episode is your roadmap to turning your creative skills into a successful business. Host Shannon Russell, a former TV producer turned business coach, shares how she transitioned out of the entertainment industry and built a thriving second act as an entrepreneur.

In this episode, Shannon breaks down the realities of burnout, layoffs, and instability that many creatives are facing in today's economy—and offers 5 powerful strategies to help you take back control, identify your transferable skills, and start a business that reflects your passion and purpose.

If you’ve been wondering, “How can I use my creative experience to start something of my own?” — this episode is for you.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why now is the ideal time for creatives to pivot
• How to identify and repurpose your creative skill set
• Real business ideas for people with creative careers
• Tips for building a business before quitting your day job
• How to redefine success on your own terms

Access Shannon’s free masterclass: 3 Secrets to Escape Your Desk Job and Set Up a Business in 3 Months https://secondactsuccess.co/secrets

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Transcript

Second Act Success Career Podcast

Season 1 - "Pivoting as a Creative: How to Turn Your Talent Into a Thriving Business | #197

Episode - #197

Host: Shannon Russell

Transcription (*created by Descript and may not be perfectly accurate)

Shannon Russell: [00:00:00] Over the

past few years, the entertainment industry has been going through a wild transformation

From the rise of streaming platforms like Netflix and Disney plus

to labor strikes, shrinking budgets and the political atmosphere, the world of TV and film has become increasingly uncertain. As a former TV producer, I have seen this shift up close in the last year alone, I have received message after message from friends, colleagues, and fellow creatives that are asking me the question, how did you make the switch? Because I was able to make a switch out of television production into entrepreneurship. I actually did this before the world started shifting,

I stepped away from producing shows and into building something of my own. On this episode of the podcast, we are going to focus on the entertainment industry, production jobs, and how creatives can make a creative pivot into launching a business of their own.

Are you ready to [00:01:00] quit your nine to five job and start a business of your own? Well, you're in the right place, my friend. Welcome to the second Act Success Career podcast. I am your host Shannon Russell. I am a former television producer, turned business owner, career transition coach, and boy mom. My mission is to help you produce your best life.

This podcast will teach you how to get from where you are now to where you want to be, and how to build a business that fits your life and lights you up. Let's get started.

Welcome back to the show. I am Shannon Russell, and yes, I am a former television producer. I produce television shows for 16 years for big studios, production companies, and online networks.

It was my dream job, as I have mentioned many times here on the show, but when I became a mom and I started to see how much I was away from my kids, the long hours, the travel, the hustle, the stress, I decided to. [00:02:00] Make a change, and I made that career transition and I leapt into entrepreneurship.

I opened my first business, which led to my second business and my podcast, and my book and my speaking career. And everything else.

So I wanna talk about how creatives, artists, people in any kind of industry that entertains and creates and brings joy to people's lives. How these creatives can actually take their skills and experience and pivot

so they can bring their talents to people in a different way. let's get started,

 If you are someone in the entertainment industry, if you are an artist, if you are in production, if you are in graphic design, if you are an animator, if you are anyone in the arts and entertainment industry, then you may have been affected by burnout, layoffs. Pause production schedules and just that simple desire, like I [00:03:00] had to want more autonomy, to want more freedom because working in that industry, there is a lot of hustle.

There is a lot of stress, there is a lot of pressure, and yes, it's creative and it's fun and you're using your talents, but there's also a lot of politics involved, and I say that in meaning it's who you know. That's how you get your next job. You need to network, you need to have connections.

And when productions are slowed and scripts aren't getting green lit, and there are writer strikes and budget cuts and all of the things that really halts Hollywood, it really does halt everything and then that leads to even more stress in this industry, for the most part, you are freelance, you are consulting on projects, you are job to job. There's always that underlying pressure of where your next paycheck is coming from. And I have experienced that personally for my whole career. Literally since I [00:04:00] graduated college, I have had to worry about the next project, the next project. And even when I left my successful television production career, I went into entrepreneurship. And guess what? I still have to worry about that

because I am the business owner, I am the boss. I am working for myself. So I am used to that hustle and bustle culture, which a lot of people probably find very odd and not very stable, but I am just used to it. But the industry has changed even more so now with everything that's going on.

And so I've been hearing a lot more from friends, former colleagues, , people I haven't talked to in 20 years who have reached out to say, how did you do this? How did you make this change? And how did you open up a business? I need help. Basically tell me how you did it. 

I've been working with a lot of entertainment industry people who want to know how to take everything that they love, everything they know how to do, [00:05:00] and do really well, and transfer those skills into a business that they can really hold tight and create

and have that control over by owning your own business? Yes, it's a lot. Yes, it's stressful, but you are in control. You're in control of how much you work, how much you offer your clients or customers, and how much you make. You are in control. You are only answering to your customers and your clients and ultimately yourself.

 what I am seeing now and through these conversations that I'm having, is that these production folks, these artists, these creatives want more control over their work and their schedule. And so I'm seeing a lot of writers doing more freelance writing, becoming consultants. I'm seeing editors, who once edited huge shows on television, launching their own smaller agencies to go out and offer services outside of the entertainment industry.

And I'm seeing producers like [00:06:00] myself building content studios of their own and writing their own scripts and trying to create their own productions, whether it's a startup or just really banning together to create something that they can control more than the industry allows.

I don't think this is really so much a survival strategy for the time that we're in. I think it's more of a creative, maybe reinvention. And it starts by recognizing that yes, you have something to offer. You have those transferable skills that you have honed and you have created and fostered for so many years in your career.

Let's look at that in a different way and figure out how you can offer those same skills and value. To others, what you already know is more valuable than you think. So that includes all of your skills, your experience, any awards, any projects you've worked on. You have accumulated so much knowledge and skill that [00:07:00] it's really about you figuring out what you wanna do with it. So if you've worked in entertainment, if you've worked in the arts, then you're already creative, adaptable, you know, the hustle.

So now it's a matter of managing that chaos that surrounds you, solving problems for yourself and telling your story. here are a few skills that you might not realize are really highly, highly marketable outside of TV and film and the arts. project management, you've juggled schedules, budgets, deadlines, and as a producer, a project manager, a production manager, an executive in Hollywood, these people all have project management experience.

My first job out of production was as a project manager. Yes, I absolutely hated the role and that's another story, but I realized that yes, producing a television show is very similar than managing a project any project, so it [00:08:00] really does align. , You can also work as a creative director. You've shaped stories, most likely you are a visual person.

Those skills transfer really well into marketing, branding, public relations. Then there's production logistics, if you will.

That person who's behind the scenes, who is recording the camera, who is adjusting the lighting, you have technical experience you know how to bring your resources and your technology, and you can use that in other industries as well. And then of course there's communication. You have dealt with people from talent to networks, to clients, partners and teams. So that communication, those negotiation skills can be used in a plethora of industries.

Once you start taking a look at really what you do day in and day out, making a list in front of you of everything that you've done on every different project, you will start to take that wider view of what you can do and [00:09:00] how you can apply it to other industries and take your talents out on your own.

Now I wanna give you five tips to start your creative pivot into a business of your own.

Trust me, I know that me rattling off a few tips to you is not that reassuring because there's that fear that comes with that instability and that fear of the unknown and what can be happening next and can you really handle it.

But by looking at your skills and experience on a piece of paper and starting to think outside of the box, start thinking about how you can create a business for yourself, whether it's consulting or contract work. Developing a whole new business outside of the industry, you can start thinking about what you can do to bring a little bit more stability to yourself, to have that control, to be the one who is calling the shots, rather than waiting for the tides to turn Here are five tips [00:10:00] to help you get started. Number one, start with curiosity. What are you interested in outside of the industry? Start exploring, reading, listening to podcasts, taking some online courses, learning some new skills, but think about what you are interested in.

Yes, you love your job and your career currently, and what you do as an artist or creator. But reinvention doesn't have to start with all of the answers. It just has to start with you asking questions. So what else are you interested in? What aspect of what you do on a day-to-day basis really lights you up?

Do you like the communication side of it? Do you like the creativity? Do you like the management? Do you like the technology side? What is it that you're really interested in? and get curious, how can you use these skills outside of how you're currently using them?

Number two, audit your skillset. So make that list, [00:11:00] like I mentioned, but not just your job titles. Write down things like managing people, storytelling, pitching, producing, organizing. Think about how you might be able to serve different clients, different businesses. If you were to bring your skills outside to a new audience and create a business offering these skills to others, number three, leverage your network.

You are not starting from scratch and I will shout that from the rooftops. You are starting from experience. Reach out to people doing the work that you admire, whether they're in the entertainment and arts industry, or if they're outside of it, set up calls, ask questions, offer help.

and ask for help. Opportunities come from people. Just like I mentioned, former colleagues and friends of mine are reaching out to me and have been for quite some time about help.

They know me, they trust me, and they know that they can ask for a [00:12:00] favor. So think about who you can lean on and who you can reach out to as well.

And of course you can always reach out to me as well. I'm always available on LinkedIn, I'm @shannonrussellcareercoach On Instagram I'm @secondactsuccess. number four. Start something now on the side. You don't have to have a full business plan right away.

You don't have to make a statement right now that you're officially leaving the industry, but you can start experimenting now. Maybe it's more freelance work. Maybe it's starting a side hustle in whatever industry you're thinking about next. Maybe it's starting a blog or writing a newsletter. Maybe you want to start a short term consulting gig.

Now, why not try these mini pivots? Now because that will help you get clarity around how a new [00:13:00] business that you could create yourself would look. And the more you learn before you leap, the more confident you will be.

Number five, reframe the narrative. I understand. Trust me, I have been there and I have spoken to so many friends. In your situation, leaving TV or film or the arts doesn't mean you're giving up who you are. Yes, it was probably your dream since you were younger.

It was definitely my dream since I was probably five years old, but here's a little advice. When I chose to leave television and go into entrepreneurship, I looked at it as a celebration. I decided to look at what I accomplished instead of what I was giving up, what I was walking away from.

I. I actually accomplished my childhood dream. I worked in the industry. I have experiences, I have stories to tell for years and years, but I wanted something else. I wanted to evolve, and [00:14:00] whether you're choosing to walk away or evolve, or whether the industry and the state of our world right now is forcing you to look at things differently.

Either way you are moving forward. Reinvention is not failure. It's a creative act. You're taking everything the person you are, and you're reframing it, and you're just twisting it, changing it, and you're pivoting into something new. It's a new chance for reinvention, a new chance to use your skills and offer something to the world in a different way.

And you are not your career. You are still the same person. You are just making this transition to fulfill yourself in different ways and give yourself that second act.

Okay. Those were my five tips on how to make that creative pivot and start thinking about what's next. And now I just wanna remind you again that you are not alone. All across the country, all across the world.

Industries are [00:15:00] changing. There is just a time of change right now in 2025 when I'm recording this episode, there's a lot of uncertainty happening. So you're not alone in what's going on, and that's actually really good news.

The entertainment and arts industry is changing, but so are we. And in this shift, there's an incredible opportunity for you to really build a business of your own that maybe feels a little bit more aligned to where you are in your career and in your life right now. You can create more flexibility, more creativity.

You can work with who you want. You can really set yourself up for a second act that is on your terms 1000%. So My Friend, use this change in the world, change in the industry as a positive. Spin it to work in your favor, and whether you're about to launch something of your own, consult for others, build a business, or just explore what life will look [00:16:00] like.

If you do make that change, now is a time to start thinking about it, start making some moves, and start pivoting towards your purpose on your own terms. And of course if you are not sure where to start, reach out to me.

I currently have a free masterclass. You can go watch right now. It's at second act success.co/secrets. I share my three secrets for leaving your day job and starting a business in three months.

You can go watch it for free right now. You'll also get my Business Startup checklist, which is a free resource.

I will link to it in the show notes below as well. And of course you can book a free strategy call with me anytime. That link will be in the show notes. Or you can go to my website second I hope this episode gave you a little inspiration, a little positivity in a world where things don't seem so certain, and I know that at the end of the day, we are [00:17:00] still creatives. We are artists, we are producers, and we can produce our own lives just like we've done in the entertainment and arts industry.

Thank you for listening, and I will see you on the next episode of the second Act Success Career podcast.